'Drunk' Japanese minister mocked in mobile phone game

The disgraced former Japanese finance minister who appeared to doze off and slur his words during a G7 press briefing earlier this month is the subject of a new mobile phone game, in which players must try to keep the politician awake.

Shoichi Nakagawa - who has a reputation as a hard drinker - resigned last week after blaming his drowsy performance in Rome on a mixture of jet lag, medicine for a cold and "one or two sips" of wine.

Now he has become the latest target of Japan's mischievous game industry. Players are invited to wake a likeness of Mr Nakagawa as he fields questions at a press conference and then let him nap to increase his energy reserves.

Players gain points in "Drowsy Presser by Drugged Minister" if they boost Mr Nakagawa's "support rating" by having him answer journalists' questions. But if the minister is caught sleeping by journalists, he falls off his chair and the game is over.

The video game from LiveWare Inc. can be downloaded for 52 yen (37 pence) on to the internet-enabled handsets of three major Japanese carriers.

In December, a British firm developed a game in which players could emulate the Iraqi reporter who threw his shoes at then-US President George W. Bush.